Little kids are my heroes. I wish I could still get that excited over little things like ice cream and action figures. It's a beautiful thing to get that much joy out of life. Oh, and Batman, cause he beat the crap outta Superman even though he doesn't have any super-powers and Superman's really really strong and can fly and stuff.

Are there any more heroes except manufactured ones? Aren't heroes always manufactured in the media or literature?

Most heroes you would never know about if they weren't blown up in the newspapers or television.

How about the people who live unsung lives taking care of their parents or sticking to difficult tasks because that's their responsibility.

What's a hero anyway? Someone who selflesslyy sacrifices their own well-being in order to achieve victory against seemingly invincible odds. Someone who goes on a quest of mythic proportions and wins through? Or maybe someone who overcomes their own fear, inertia and dread to achieve something special and unqiue.

Of course a hero has to be on Our Side, and be a Good Person and all that. If they are heroes on the Other Side, they are evil incarnate and deserve obliteration.

Don't we take secret delight in seeing our heroes take pratfalls and turn out to be ordinary joes after all, or worse chiselers or connivers?

I think heroism comes in many shapes and forms, most of which we don't see reflected in the media. My mom's a hero, and many of the people coping with difficult situations on this board are heroes as well. I guess it's all in the definition.

ramen wrote:Are there any more heroes except manufactured ones? Aren't heroes always manufactured in the media or literature?

Most heroes you would never know about if they weren't blown up in the newspapers or television.

How about the people who live unsung lives taking care of their parents or sticking to difficult tasks because that's their responsibility.

Damn right!

ramen wrote:What's a hero anyway? Someone who selflesslyy sacrifices their own well-being in order to achieve victory against seemingly invincible odds. Someone who goes on a quest of mythic proportions and wins through? Or maybe someone who overcomes their own fear, inertia and dread to achieve something special and unqiue.

Right again, ramen. Absolutely.

ramen wrote:Of course a hero has to be on Our Side, and be a Good Person and all that. If they are heroes on the Other Side, they are evil incarnate and deserve obliteration.

Don't we take secret delight in seeing our heroes take pratfalls and turn out to be ordinary joes after all, or worse chiselers or connivers?

No, I cannot say you speak for me on this one. That tends to rip my heart out instead.

ramen wrote:I think heroism comes in many shapes and forms, most of which we don't see reflected in the media. My mom's a hero, and many of the people coping with difficult situations on this board are heroes as well. I guess it's all in the definition.

1 a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b : an illustrious warrior c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d : one that shows great courage

ramen wrote:Of course a hero has to be on Our Side, and be a Good Person and all that. If they are heroes on the Other Side, they are evil incarnate and deserve obliteration.

Don't we take secret delight in seeing our heroes take pratfalls and turn out to be ordinary joes after all, or worse chiselers or connivers?

No, I cannot say you speak for me on this one. That tends to rip my heart out instead.

AB,

In the first instance, I'm being sarcastic about the biological implications of heroism...we don't tend to see competitors as heroes. Sometimes, yes, but often not.

In the second instance, i'm thinking of the Enquirer brand of splat journalism which delights in exposing the gods and goddesses of media, manufactured heroes, to the blazing light of everyday reality.

Oops, passed the signal to noise ratio. Back to our everyday programming.

There seems a common-enough definition of heroism--sacrifice for others, good deeds done in obscurity without thought of reward.

Those work, but lately I've become attuned to other kinds of heroes--people who overcome themselves.

There are number of them here on the eplaya. Lydia Love became heroic to me when she apologised for flaming someone when trying to kick cigarettes. Doubly heroic, actually.

My baby boy is heroic to me whenever he tries to stand up, or gets over a bump on the noggin. Also in the way he completely gives in to laughter, though this is not a conscious act his part. It's heroic to me because it inspires me to laugh too, and by spending the time to play with him, I'm think I helping him become a better person.

So he turns me into a hero, in this way. His life inspires me to work harder, be more honest and gentle, and to be kinder to myself.

my grandpa, who was ostracized in his village during the war because he railed against nazism and had to take the train for 60 miles twice a week to get food from his relatives in the country because no one in town would sell to him, and because he put a copy of mine kampf in the bathroom when his family ran out of toilet paper.

my adoptive grandpa, because he had the wisdom to realize that just because some germans had done some bad things didn't mean that they were all evil and went there to help rebuild after the war, and because he encouraged everyone he met to follow their dreams and achieve their highest goals at a time when society still tried to pigeonhole people into little racist and sexist boxes, even moreso than today, and had the patience and time to talk to a little kid just as much as he would spend with anyone else because eveyone was important to him.

Often it seems that we confuse champions, figures like Michael Jordan or Spider Man, for heroes. Champions are notable for their prowess, which is a worthy enough thing. But, as noted earlier in this thread, heroes are notable for acting for the greater good, and reaching beyond themselves.

Even though we do confuse champions for heroes, we know in our hearts what makes a true hero. The proof? This time every year we, as a nation, cheer for the ultimate and architypical American hero: George Bailey in the film It's a Wonderful Life.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
-- George Washington

Kelly Johnson, founder, Lockheed Skunk Works. He pushed the limits, he challenged authority, and his work saved the world from one barely averted nuclear exchange (Israel / Egypt: The 6 day war) among many other things. His management style set a standard that still serves well today.

Somewhere deep in the Dept of Homeland Security a monitoring pop-up box flashes on an anonymous staffer's screen. A couple of phone calls later A II Z hears a knock on the door...he looks outside to see a black helo circling overhead and a black van parked out front, and guys in black uniforms surrounding the house.......

ramen wrote:What's a hero anyway? ...Or maybe someone who overcomes their own fear, inertia and dread to achieve something special and unqiue.

I have a friend who spent the first half of her life fighting for survival as a child and teenager in an abusive adoptive family and later homeless on the streets. She did whatever she had to to survive, and it made her hard as nails.

She made a decision at some point that she needed more out of life, and from herslef, so she worked her way through a trade school so she could make a decent living for herself and get off the streets.

She then took it a major step forward - she's spent the past 5 years consciously shedding the rage, pain, and fear that fueled her survival, and learned how to invite joy into her life. I've seen her evolve from a tough, scared, glacially pretty gutterpunk into into a deeply affectionate, warm, beautiful, wise woman. She is a counselor in many ways, and has effected incredibly positive change in the lives of the people who are blessed enough to be near her.

Her courage to face herself and her responsibility, and her ability, willingness and grace in accepting accepting both, are truly heroic to me.

I guess that for me, a hero is someone who inspires you, by example, to be a better influence on the world.

That person didn't happen to be at the town hall meeting Sunday was she?

I think I know someone like that and after she shed enough of her anger I found she was a most remarkable, most astonishing woman.

No, but I am really happy to hear that you know someone like her. Anger is a really tough thing to let go of. Often it gives us the power we need to fight whatever is crushing us, but when that fight is over, and we've won, letting go of the anger feels like giving up that power. Consciously making yourself vulnerable is a scary proposition.

But you can't hold onto anger without somehow spewing it around you. It's like an acid that will eat through any container you think is strong enough to keep it aside for when you need it.

This woman showed me, by her own example, that the very fact that I won the battle negated my need for the weapon. And that allowing myself to be vulnerable invites love and acceptance, rather than disaster.

I must say that my real true heroes in my life are my parents. Especially my mother, who five years ago was diagnosed with stage 4 colon and liver cancer and the Doctors gave her less than 2 years if 1 year to live. I had already lost a grandmother and a dear uncle at the age of 53 of colon cancer and was scared to death of losing one of the 2 most important people in my life. My mother was always there for not only me but the whole family, she had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone without questions. My mom went through 2 major surgerys and had 4 feet of her colon taken out with 6 months of intense chemo therapy.
My mom through love, friendship and prayers made it through this terrible ordeal without complaining once and she is now cancer free for 4 years and is a walking miracle. My father is also one of my greatest heroes for
walking through this with mom and never ever leaving her side and his love and support of the whole entire family is one of life's greatest things to witness. Those are my heroes During this time of year we must remember those dear to us and who have influenced our lives the most be they living or passed on to a better place. We must keep them in mind and keep them in our hearts and love them always because they are forever with us and they are our true heroes.

We never know what we want out of life until the opportunity passes us by.

Bill Hicks, for evolving ideas,
Victoria Woodhull for running for president in 1872 and just generally being a woman a hundred years ahead of her time
my friend Julian, for being a huge inspiration as a producer and musician and businessman and mentor,
and my ex boyfriend Justin for not only always jumping to make superlative lemonade out of life-lemons, but inspiring other people to do it as well

I tend to find fictional heroes are easier to idolize, in that they have none of those pesky failings to muddy their reputation. Not that I like one-dimensional cardboard characters - I'm talking more like THomas Jefferson keeping his slaves while penning the Declaration of Independance, things like that...